Bob Brewin

Cisco Systems Inc. announced the availability of a protocol that's designed to defeat brute-force dictionary attacks that capture users' passwords in its wireless LAN products. The company urged end users and systems administrators to download the related patch from its Web site.

Major consumer packaged goods manufacturers don't foresee any quick return from adding radio frequency identification technology to their packaging and distribution systems. Instead, they view it as the cost of doing business with major customers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has mandated the use of RFID tags starting next year.

Despite Cisco Systems Inc.'s rollout last June of so-called fast roaming capabilities for wireless LANs, some IT managers said they have switched to WLAN...

Good Technology Inc. launched a version of its corporate messaging and data access software Tuesday that supports handheld devices running on Microsoft Corp. mobile operating systems as well as handhelds from PalmOne Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman in late December called for the creation of an automated system for identifying and tracking farm animals to improve the government's ability to respond to emergencies, such as the case of mad cow disease discovered in Washington state.

The discovery of a single cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a Washington state dairy herd in late December illustrates the need for a national livestock identification system to trace infected cattle in the U.S., government and beef industry officials say. But plans to deploy such a system are still hobbled by a lack of funding.

ISoft PLC has won key positions as the health care application service provider (ASP) on three of the multibillion-dollar contracts Britain's National Health Service awarded this month.

Britain's National Health Service (NHS) awarded almost US$5 billion in contracts to develop lifelong electronic health records for 50 million patients in its systems linked to 30,000 doctors and 270 health care providers in England.